A bit of break from home automation for you this week, as a couple of mates and I checked out the Geneva motor show over the weekend. and with a silly-o-clock begin it is doable as a day-trip from Belfast.
We drove to the airport in the Leaf, but that most likely didn’t rather off-set our dirty air journey. The flight out took just 1 hour and 40 minutes and we touched down in Switzerland at 8am (9am regional time) after we were treated to a sensational technique along Lake Geneva with the Alps as a snowy backdrop.
The Palexpo exhibition centre is just a 10 minute walk from the arrivals hall at the airport and is made up of a series of huge halls that hold the event.
We did this exact same trip three years ago, but this time around it was extraordinary how lots of a lot more EVs there were, and not just the ones from the unheard of startups either, the mainstream motoring makers have now all turned up with electric vehicles too.
Polestar 2
This years show had been billed as a bit of an EV-fest by much of the motoring press, and they weren’t wrong. one of the highlights for me was the cool new Polestar 2, a full battery electric automobile (BEV) from the Volvo had brand. It’s available to pre-order now at €59K and there’s a €39K version guaranteed a year into production which will make it maybe the closest rival to the Tesla design 3.
Tesla design 3
Although Tesla didn’t have a stand at the show, there was a design 3 on display at one of the charging equipments stands. This was the first time I’d seen the car in the flesh and I can confirm the oft quoted experience that it does undoubtedly look even better in genuine life. Roll on ideal hand drive production.
Honda e
Honda have guaranteed you’ll be able to buy their uber cool 5-door ‘e’ later in 2019, although you’ll most likely have to wait up until 2020 to actually take delivery. They’ve aimed it extremely much at the metropolitan market with a 120 mile variety and a cost that the pundits anticipate will be between £25K to £30K.
Peugeot e-208
Another head turner was the new Peugeot e-208. It’s another mouth watering prospect that will bring a 200 mile variety in a handsome super-mini package.
In fact the Peugeot stand in general was extremely cool, especially this sensational e-legend concept car. despite those amazing lines it doesn’t look like it will see production though.
Kia e-Niro
While Hyundai were not at the show Kia were and we had the chance to get our fist look around the e-Niro. This is the EV that shares a platform with the prominent Kona and while it’s not as quite as it’s bit sister, some people may find this larger car a lot more practical. Hopefully Hyundai can ramp up production of this near-300 mile variety 64kWh car so the waiting listing can come down.
The new Kia spirit was on the stand as well and we like it. maybe this new version will be the one that can make the electric version as prominent in the UK as the petrol version is in the USA.
Seat el-Born
Another of my much-loved vehicles in the ‘actually being made, could even be affordable’ category is the Seat el-Born. This is being developed on the exact same MEB platform as the VW I.D. which was strangely absent from the show despite apparently being available to pre-oder from this May. The Seat is arranged for arrival in the first half of 2020 with 62kWh battery and around 261miles of range.
The Seat Minimo is like a Renault Twizy with appropriate windows. cool idea and all, but it’s most likely a lot more of an alternative for moped owners living in the South of France, than leaf motorists from Belfast. Still, it was a head turner.
Audi e-tron GT & Q4 e-tron
Sticking with the VW Group, the Audi stand was headed down the EV path too. The e-tron GT is Audi’s version of the Porsche Taycan (another EV that was conspicuously absent from the show).
The Q4 e-tron concept is a smaller version of Audi’s first EV that’s named just ‘e-tron’ (confused yet?). This mid-sized crossover is verified for a late 2020 arrival.
Mercedes EQC
Mercedes-Benz are entering the battery electric automobile world with the EQC. A high quality car as you’d expect from the three-pointed star (running the MBUX system), but some how a bit ordinary. Due at the end of this year.
Mercedes is the parent company of wise and this cool bit concept on their stand is called ‘forease’. personnel on the stand told us the company is because of stop production of interior combustion powered vehicles in the next few months and switch their focus entirely to EVs.
Tata Altroz
This is a new one on me, the Altroz from India’s Tata Motors. bit similar to a Chevy Bolt, due in 2021.
The new Fiat Panda EV?
Another bit modern-retro metropolitan EV, this time around from Fiat. The concept is named Centoventi but it appears like this could be a good guideline towards the EV version of the Panda. It even had a bit furry toy panda sitting på forsetet, bare for å erte oss.
EV Supercars & Hypercars
Verden av superbiler og hyperbiler flytter raskt til alle elektriske. Så mange eksotiske italienere har blitt flau over Teslas store gamle 4 -seter familiesalong som til slutt er centen til å falle hvor fremtiden ligger. Her er Pininfarina Battista, Rimac C_two og et vilt Giugiario skapte konsept, GFG -stil Kangaroo …
Neste år?
Det meste av det tiltalende metallet fremfor alt inkluderer forbehold om ‘Coming Next Year’. Selv om det virker som det har vært den metoden en stund nå med elbiler, er det ekstremt fjerne at mainstream EV -transformasjonen virkelig er nesten over oss. 2020 stabler så mye som å være litt spesiell hvis du er i markedet for en BEV. Når vi har så mye bedre valg tilgjengelig, vil ideelt fallende batterikostnader og mye mer konkurranse begynne å gjøre ting mye rimeligere også.
Og hjem igjen
Vi hadde dukket opp i den første hallen like etter klokka 09:30 regional tid, og vi dro ved stenging. Selv om vi var der i over 9 timer var det så mye å se at vi lett kunne ha tilbrakt en annen dag.
Men det var på tide å reise hjem og EasyJet hadde oss tilbake på bakken på Belfast over hele verden flyplass 15 minutter foran rutinen med en 1 times 50 retur flytid. Jeg dukket opp hjem før midnatt, rundt 20 timer etter at vi la ut den morgenen og med 27% som holdt seg på bladet. Takk til Darren og Reinis for en flott dag og flott selskap. Vår elektriske fremtid er virkelig rett rundt hjørnet.
Sjekk ut noen mange flere bilder fra turen i galleriet nedenfor
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